Belly scale oddness

[padiente]

Kitty's belly scales are getting kind of rusty looking around the edges of some of them. Before last shed a few (3) were very flakey, but they cleared up a lot after the shed, now more are dry seeming and are getting that color to them, only around the edges though. The color is the same as the sudstrate. What is going on? I know what scale rot is supposed to be caused by too much humidity, but what is going on, becuase I have been having problems with low humidity, not high humidity. I am worried.

[Smulkin]

What kind of substrate are you using? How are your temps?

[padiente]

High 80's -low 90's on the warm side and low 80's to high 70's on the cool side. The substrate is Repti bark

[Blink]

Whats your humidity?

[padiente]

ahh, my friend, it has sucked lately, sucked much, but he has been soaking and I am getting it up. He shed really well last shed, but the humidity has been low and it is finally recovering, iwas about 53% when I got home tonight

[Marla]

Most likely you are at the leading edge of scale rot. At this point it can be easily treated with three steps 1) switch to paper substrate temporarily, 2) apply plain Neosporin to affected scales daily, and 3) wait out 1-2 sheds for scale rot to disappear before quitting 1 and 2. You've probably either over-misted the substrate or he's been soaking and then getting it wet and staying in it.

[padiente]

I know the substrate has not been wet, I would even go so far as to say, it has been too dry, and he only started soaking this week. I will try that though, starting tomorrow, just in case. Can you think of anything else it could be?

[Marla]

Sorry, that's the only thing I've seen personally that started with a brownish tinge around the edge of the scales, but I know that treatment worked for me and a couple of others. Someone else may know of a different cause for it, though.

[padiente]

I thought the same thing, scale rot, but what I thought caused scale rot is the opposite of the condistions in my tank. It is all very strange.

[Marla]

It is strange, but I'd go ahead and treat it as scale rot or take it to a vet, one or the other.